Two awesome open races took place this weekend in Dublin, New Hampshire and Waterville, Maine. Both events were designed to be a low key and cater to a wide range of abilities — however both inclusive events included lots of talented skiing. As we head into our popular race season (Zak and Club Cup) we want to highlight the community vibe of these events. Get to the races and you’ll have a good time!

On Sunday The Dublin School and Dublin XC hosted an exciting Kings Court format sprint – where skiers “stay in” the rounds – moving up or down the brackets based on placement in the previous heat. You can follow the advancement brackets here. Skiers described awesome conditions on natural snow. Qualifier times.

Also on Sunday, a little to the east, the Central Maine Ski Club hosted Bowdoin and Colby College along with a solid turnout of club skiers. The race took place on Quarry Road’s fortified 1.8km snowmaking loop — with fantastic conditions boosted by favorable weather to start the winter. They soon hope to open a full 2.5km loop. Results here.

The event got some nice press by the Morning Sentinel and comes on the heels of continued investment in Waterville, including hiring Justin Fereshetian as the Quarry Road Trails Program Director.

It’s exciting to see such a vibrant start to this winter’s events – as we look to Craftsbury this coming weekend for the kick off of the 2019-2020 Popular Race Series. Read more about Saturday’s “Knock In” Sprint and traditional classic Opener on Sunday here. Registration is off to a good start and open until Thursday at 8:30pm – there is no day of race for Saturday due to the format of the event. Masters skiers will be scored on both days for Zak Cup – kicking of a season filled with age-based-friendly-rivalries. Don’t forget we’re scoring a new class for skiers aged 23-29 and all skiers are scored for Club Cup standings.

The following weekend all eyes will return to Maine for the Eastern Cup Opener being hosted in Sugarloaf, Maine. Field sizes are expected to include 300-400 racers per day. This year’s Eastern Cup Opener will be held in memory of Roy Varney, a State Champion Nordic skier from Turner, ME, who passed away in July 2019. An anonymous donor will match registration fees for all Maine racers to the Roy Varney Memorial Fund. Look forward to a press release from Sugarloaf with more details of the first major event of the season. Registration is open.